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Sábado, 23 de Maio de 2020

9 Signs You Have Mean World Syndrome and How to Fight It

Janey Davies, B.A. (Hons)

https://www.learning-mind.com

May 23rd, 2020.

There’s an unwritten rule we all tend to assume. The rule is ‘the more violence a person views on TV, the more violent their tendencies are in real life’. But one person believed the reverse to be true. That in fact, the more violent the media, the more frightened we become. This is Mean World Syndrome.

What Is Mean World Syndrome?

Mean World Syndrome describes a psychological bias where a person believes the world is a more violent place because they watch a large amount of violence on TV.

Mean World Syndrome is based on the research of Hungarian Jewish journalist George Gerbner. Fascinated by the influence of violence on TV on our perceptions of society, Gerbner wondered why, if we are all now consuming larger amounts of violence on TV are the real-life crime figures dropping.

How to Spot the Signs of Mean World Syndrome?

You might think to yourself that there’s no way you would succumb to this way of thinking, but here are just some of the signs of Mean World Syndrome:

Do you believe that most people are just looking out for themselves?
Would you be afraid of walking through your neighbourhood at night?
Are you cautious when interacting with strangers?
Would you cross the road if you saw a man of ethnic minority approaching you?
Do you think people should go home to their native countries?
Are most people out to take advantage of you?
Would you be unhappy if a Latino or Hispanic family moved in next-door?
Do you avoid people of different ethnic backgrounds?
Do you always tend to watch the same types of programme i.e. horror, gore?

Violence and TV: What Leads Us to Develop Mean World Syndrome?

We tend to think of the TV as an innate and harmless form of entertainment. It sits in our living rooms, we turn it on to appease bored children, or it remains on in the background unnoticed. But TV has changed throughout the decades.

For instance, I’m 55 years old now, and I remember the very first time I watched The Exorcist. It frightened me for nights on end. I happened to show the film to a few friends who were twenty or so years younger than me, expecting them to have the same visceral reaction. But they just laughed.

It’s easy to see why. Films like Hostel show a woman’s eyes blowtorched in graphic detail. In contrast, Linda Blair’s turning head just looks comical.

I think we can agree that TV and films, in particular, portray violence in a much more graphic way these days. But the majority of us watch violence like this on TV and do not turn into serial killers. And this is what interested Gerbner.

See Violence, Commit Violence?

Historically, psychologists focused on whether those who had been exposed to media violence would be more likely to commit violence in real life. Gerbner believed exposure to media violence was far more complex. He suggested that consuming media violence is more likely to make us scared and fearful. But why?

Gerbner found that people with moderate to heavy TV and media viewing habits were more likely to believe they would be a victim of violence. They were also more worried about their personal security. They were less likely to go out in their own neighbourhood at night.

These responses differed greatly from people with light viewing habits. In this case, light viewers had a more rounded and generous view of society.

“Our studies have shown that growing up from infancy with this unprecedented diet of violence has three consequences, which, in combination, I call the “mean world syndrome.” What this means is that if you are growing up in a home where there is more than say three hours of television per day, for all practical purposes you live in a meaner world – and act accordingly – than your next-door neighbour who lives in the same world but watches less television.” Gerbner

So What Exactly Is Going On?

There’s a historical view of media and TV violence that we viewers are passive in our entertainment. We are like sponges, soaking up all the gratuitous violence. This old view suggests that TV and media fire information like a bullet into our minds. That TV and media can control us like automatons, feeding our minds with subliminal messages.

Gerbner saw things differently. He did believe that TV and media played a crucial role in the way we view society. But not one where we are encouraged to commit violent acts. One where we ourselves are scared and frightened by what we see.

How Mean World Syndrome Is Cultivated in Our Society

According to Gerbner, the problem lies in how this violence is portrayed on TV and in the media. It intersperses with banal content. For example, one minute, we are watching an advert for bleach or nappies, and the next, we see a news item that someone’s daughter has been abducted, raped, and dismembered.

We switch from one shocking news story to comedies, from a graphic horror film to a cute animal cartoon. And it is this constant switching between the two that normalises the violence we see. And when mass media normalises something as awful as a child abduction we don’t feel safe anymore.

We assume that this is the world we live in now. It’s that old news saying: “If it bleeds, it leads.” News channels focus on the most violent crimes, movies find new ways to shock us, even local news prefer gore and horror to cute stories about rescue puppies.

Violence Is Normal

Gerbner realised that it was the normalisation of violence, he called it ‘happy violence’ that cultivates a fearful society. In fact, there is a direct correlation between the amount of TV a person watches and their level of fear.

Mass media saturates us with graphic images, horrific stories, and frightening storylines. News channels remind us about the ‘War on Terror’, or the consequences of the coronavirus, all while glaring mugshots of offenders pierce through our collective consciousness.

It’s not surprising we are afraid to go outside our own homes. This cultivated fear shapes us into victimhood.

TV and Media Are the New Storytellers

Yet, you could say that we come across violence in fairy tales as children, or in Shakespeare’s play as teenagers. That we need to acknowledge violence as part of what’s good and bad about society. However, we are told fairy tales by a parent who provides context or comfort should we become upset. Shakespeare plays often have a moral story or ending which is discussed in class.

There is no parent or teacher advising us when we view violence portrayed in mass media. Moreover, this violence is often sensationalised, it’s delivered in a spectacular way. It’s often portrayed as humorous or sexy. As a result, we become indoctrinated with this constant flow saturation.

We Are Born into Viewing Violence

Gerbner stated that we are born into this saturation. There is no before or after viewing violence, we grow up with it, and from a very early age. In fact, children view around 8,000 murders by the age of 8 years old, and around 200,000 violent acts by the time they are 18.

All this violence adds up to a pervasive narrative we believe to be true. Each TV programme, every news story, all those films add up to a seamless and continuous dialogue. One that tells us the world is a scary, frightening, and violent place to live in.

The reality, however, is much different. According to the Justice Dept., murder rates are down 5% and violent crime is at an all-time low, having dropped 43%. Despite this, coverage of murders increased by 300%.

“Fearful people are more dependent, more easily manipulated and controlled, more susceptible to deceptively simple, strong, tough measures and hard-line measures…” Gerbner

How to Fight Mean World Syndrome?

There are lots of ways you can control how you feel about the society you inhabit.

Limit the amount of TV and media you view.
Alternate between different types of programmes, e.g. comedy and sport.
Remember, the majority version of violence presented by the media is a small minority of real life.
Use different kinds of media to access information, i.e. books, journals.
Get the facts from reliable sources so you don’t over-estimate the amount of violence in the world.
Ask yourself, who benefits from perpetuating the myth of mass fear?

Final Thoughts

It’s easy to see how we can become enveloped in Mean World Syndrome. Every day we are bombarded with the most gruesome facts and images. These present a distorted view of the world.

The problem is if we only see the world through fear-tinted glasses, solutions to our problems will be based solely around this fear. And we could end up imprisoning ourselves for no good reason.

References:

Janey Davies

https://www.learning-mind.com/

About the Author: Janey Davies.

Janey Davies has been published online for over 8 years. She is the head writer for Shoppersbase.com, she also writes for AvecAgnes.co.uk, Ewawigs.com and has contributed to inside3DP.com. She has an Honours Degree in Psychology and her passions include learning about the mind, popular science and politics. When she is relaxing she likes to walk her dog, read science fiction and listen to Muse.

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tags: crime, fear, food for thought, humankind, janey davies, mental health, perception, psychology, society

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Quarta-feira, 5 de Fevereiro de 2020

Cyberstalking: Examples, Tactics and How to Protect Yourself Online

Janey Davies.

https://www.learning-mind.com

February 4th, 2020.

img source

Stalking in any form is insidious and menacing. However, cyberstalking takes this kind of threatening behaviour to frightening new levels.

The internet has evolved to become the place in which we communicate effectively and quickly. For the vast majority of us, it is a safe and pleasant place to inhibit. But for others, it can cause untold terror and misery. So what exactly is cyberstalking?

What Is Cyberstalking?

It is any kind of unwanted attention, such as harassment or abuse, which takes place online. This can be via email, text messages, social media, even GPS tracking devices. It is basically stalking in the cyberworld.

This type of abuse can be directed at an individual, group or business. It tends to be prolonged, intimidating, and sustained over a long period of time. The problem with this type of stalking is that you cannot escape from it. It follows you everywhere. We all have smartphones, access to the internet. And we can’t just switch off.

Examples of Cyberstalking

Hacking into a person’s social media account to find personal information.
Creating a fake social media account to keep in touch with an ex-partner.
Sending hundreds of unwanted text messages or emails.
Posting explicit pictures of an ex-partner online.
Threatening to post nude pictures of an ex-partner online or to friends and family.
Hacking the person’s social media account and posting rude messages as that person.
Using your social media account to post malicious rumours about a person.
Sending spiteful or discrediting emails to a victim’s place of work to damage their reputation.
Hacking into a victim’s computer looking for explicit material to exploit to family and work.

Unfortunately, modern technology has made it extremely easy for stalkers to progress to online stalking. The other problem is that, particularly in view of identity fraud, many people lay their lives wide open on social media. Some people think nothing of posting the most intimate details of their lives online for the whole world to see.

For example, when we go away on holiday, we take steps to ensure our mail is not piling up when strangers can easily see it. We stop milk deliveries. In addition, we set up lights to come on and off at certain times of the day and night. However, we think nothing of posting holiday pictures on Instagram while we are away.

So we have seen examples of cyberstalking, but what tactics do cyberstalkers use to harass their victims?

Tactics a Cyberstalker Will Use

Social engineering

This is a method of manipulation. The cyberstalker will trick the victim into giving up private information. Also known as phishing; this could be by means of planting a virus via email. Another method is cold calling and asking for the victim’s date of birth, etc.

Bad acting

Here the cyberstalker will impersonate someone the victim already knows. Or they will create a fake identity to befriend the victim or the victim’s family. The reason to do this is to exhort money, embarrass, harass or distance the victim from friends and family.

Doxing

Many cyberstalkers will take advantage of the mass of intelligence you can glean online. There are various sources, including Open Source Intelligence (OSINT). This is known as Doxing. As such, there is a mine of readily available public records, databases and search engines for anyone to find online.

Skilled Hackers

The cyberstalker can use a skilled hacker or learn the techniques themselves. Skilled hackers have a multitude of means to gain access to your devices. One simple way is to plant a GPS tracker in your car. This then pings a message to your phone whenever it moves. In actual fact, more skilled hackers can access your computer’s webcam and microphone. As a result, they’ll then monitor your movements and conversations.

Likewise, smartphones are hacked in the same way. The cyberstalker can not only track where your phone is but also clone it. In addition, they can also spoof a phone that is known to you and use it to extract information.

Examples of Victims

Reasons for cyberstalking can vary depending on the perpetrator. A jealous partner can cyberstalk their ex to intimidate them into returning to the relationship. Or to stop them from moving on with their lives.

Jealous ex-partners

One woman living in Glendale, California had noticed she kept accidentally ‘bumping’ into her ex-boyfriend in the most unexpected places. These places ranged from coffee shops, the airport, even the cemetery. She was suspicious and then saw him underneath her car early one morning. He had planted a GPS tracking device in her car which sent signals to his phone. This allowed him to track her every move. When she spotted him, he was in the process of changing the battery.

A second woman was murdered after her stalker was able to find her by using online technology. The man paid an online investigations firm just $154 to find out this woman’s place of work. He went there and shot her. No one at the agency asked why he wanted the information.

Another woman went to the police after several men began contacting her from a local dating site. All the men were looking for casual hookups. All of her personal information was readily available on the online dating site.

Identity fraud

When we think about identity fraud, we automatically assume it is all about money. That the fraudsters want to gather information about their victims in order to scam them into parting with savings. Of course, in many cases, this is true. However, some identity fraud cases are much more complicated.

A journalist writing for Wired.com recounts how her stalker turned to the internet after repeated attempts failed to connect them in the real world. This cyberstalker spoofed her email accounts.

This allowed him to impersonate her online. He sent her hundreds of texts, called her relentlessly, all without her responding. She blocked him on all her social media. However, he ramped up the stalking by attacking her professional career. The police were unable to help as it was not deemed to be a serious threat to her life.

So are there any statistics on the victims of cyberstalking?

Statistics on Cyberstalking

As cyberstalking is a relatively new crime, statistics are rare and not easy to come by. But a national advocacy group has found the following:

50% of all victims were ex-partners of the stalker
More than 50% of cyberstalkers are male
The majority of victims are Caucasian
Most of the victims are aged between 18 and 29 years old
Over 30% of cyberstalking starts on social media

How to Protect Yourself Against Cyberstalking

Thankfully, cyberstalking is now regarded as a serious crime. So if you think you are being stalked online, go to the police and report it. In the meantime, here are some tips and guidelines to protect yourself now and in the future.
Use good security protection software to prevent infections from viruses or attacks from infected websites.
Never allow someone physical access to your computer or smartphone.
Create strong passwords for each and every one of your accounts and change them on a regular basis. Don’t share them with anyone. Moreover, don’t use pet names or names that are easily guessable from your social media profiles.
Log out from your computer programs every time you step away from the screen on your PC, laptop and smartphone. Don’t just close the page down.
Use the privacy settings on your social media account properly. This ensures that no one knows your date of birth, where you live, your email address or your phone number.
Don’t tag photographs with your location. Hackers can tell a lot more than just the location from the metadata attached to the picture.
Try Googling yourself using different name combinations to see what information is readily available. If you find that sensitive information is online, contact the website and have it removed.
If a relationship ends, change the passwords on everything you have online. This includes social media accounts and bank accounts.
Don’t be provocative with people you don’t know online. For instance, you wouldn’t go into a pub and start an argument with strangers. Don’t assume it is safe to do so online.

Final thoughts

A lot of advice regarding cyberstalking is common-sense. Use the same safety measures in real life that you would online. For more complicated cases, get the police involved.

References:

Janey Davies

About the Author: Janey Davies.

COPYRIGHT © 2019 LEARNING MIND. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. FOR PERMISSION TO REPRINT, CONTACT US.

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A Trusty with Privacy Search 
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No religious or political creed is advocated here.

Organised religion is unnecessary to spirituality.

Excellent teachings of the masters have been contaminated by the dogmatic control of these religions.

Discernment yes; judgement does not.
If you use discernment you are free to research with an open mind.

With discernment it is possible to reach the spirit of the letter of any writing and it is also much easier to listen to the voice of the soul that comes from the heart.
Individually you can be helped to find your Truth that is different of everyone.

Please respect all credits.

Discernment is recommended.

All articles are of the respective authors and/or publishers responsibility.

Like this! please bookmark. It is updated daily

(email:nai@violetflame.biz.ly)

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